English essays -- 19th century; Great Britain -- Social life and customs; London (England) -- Description and travel
What man of sense likes to fling it off
and put on a tight guinde prim dress-coat that pinches him? There is
the cozy wraprascal, self-indulgence--how easy it is! How warm! How it
always seems to fit! You can walk out in it; you can go down to dinner
in it. You can say of such what Tully says of his books: Pernoctat
nobiscum, peregrinatur, rusticatur. It is a little slatternly--it is
a good deal stained--it isn't becoming--it smells of cigar-smoke; but,
allons donc! let the world call me idle and sloven. I love my ease
better than my neighbor's opinion. I live to please myself; not you, Mr.
Dandy, with your supercilious airs. I am a philosopher. Perhaps I live
in my tub, and don't make any other use of it--. We won't pursue further
this unsavory metaphor; but, with regard to some of your old habits let
us say--
1. The habit of being censorious, and speaking ill of your neighbors.
2. The habit of getting into a passion with your man-servant, your
maid-servant, your daughter, wife, &c.
3. The habit of indulging too much at table.
4. The habit of smoking in the dining-room after dinner.
5. The habit of spending insane sums of money in bric-a-brac, tall
copies, binding, Elzevirs, &c.; '20 Port, outrageously fine horses,
ostentatious entertainments, and what not? or,
6. The habit of screwing meanly, when rich, and chuckling over the
saving of half a crown, whilst you are poisoning your friends and family
with bad wine.
7. The habit of going to sleep immediately after dinner, instead of
cheerfully entertaining Mrs. Jones and the family: or,
8. LADIES! The habit of running up bills with the milliners, and
swindling paterfamilias on the house bills.
9. The habit of keeping him waiting for breakfast.
10. The habit of sneering at Mrs. Brown and the Miss Browns, because
they are not quite du monde, or quite so genteel as Lady Smith.
11. The habit of keeping your wretched father up at balls till five
o'clock in the morning, when he has to be at his office at eleven.
12. The habit of fighting with each other, dear Louisa, Jane, Arabella,
Amelia.
13. The habit of ALWAYS ordering John Coachman, three-quarters of an
hour before you want him.
SUCH habits, I say, sir or madam, if you have had to note in your
diary of '61, I have not the slightest doubt you will enter in your
pocket-book of '62. There are habits Nos. 4 and 7, for example. I am
morally sure that some of us will not give up those bad customs, though
the women cry out and grumble, and scold ever so justly. There are
habits Nos. 9 and 13. I feel perfectly certain, my dear young ladies,
that you will continue to keep John Coachman waiting; that you will
continue to give the most satisfactory reasons for keeping him waiting:
and as for (9), you will show that you once (on the 1st of April last,
let us say,) came to breakfast first, and that you are ALWAYS first in
consequence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account